Windows into populism. People don’t desire things, they desire what other people desire. It’s a social…

Windows into populism. People don’t desire things, they desire what other people desire. It’s a social sorting process, to create teams and hierarchies. This is what fads and fashions are. Interior design, as an example. 1/6 https://t.co/MJClrLBvyp

The 1960s/70s had bright, bold colours. Then the 1980s arrived, and we had washed-out pastels, and into the 1990s. Then the 2000s have all been about clinical monochromes. Whites and greys. But…*it’s the same people*. What people ‘like’ is not about the things they like. 2/6 https://t.co/trEUYYVdXU

It’s about either being part of the in-crowd, or not. The ever-shifting teams competing for status. During a particular fashion trend, others will be setting out alternatives, to create a new distinguishing team. Not because that fashion is better. It’s not about the thing. 3/6

But because of the endless striving for status. It’s why fashions happen and change. Shifting social hierarchies. Today we say it’s what’s ‘trending’. That’s populist politics too. No actual connection to reality. Just the capacity to get things to trend. 4/6

Early in the pandemic in Australia, doing old-fashioned public health work trended. Then letting it rip trended, and is still trending. In each case it’s not about Covid. It’s about rival human teams, competing for status. 5/6

That’s what we always miss, focusing on the objects of our attention and desire. The real underlying mechanism. Team sports. The battle for status. /end